Often the week is rushing while you are in slow motion, but you still want a satisfying meal, that doesn’t break the bank.
Ok team, this is one of those weeks, so I wanted to point you to a great site that I use to get inspiration for new meals to enjoy
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/cheap_eats
If you are looking for a delicious meal, with no fuss, and not loaded with calories, consider a mushroom based meal. In a pinch I was entertaining a friend who happens to be focusing on her weight loss journey right now, and decided to whip up a quick healthy meal.
The dish consisted of a bed of brown rice, haricot vert (green beans), a baby zucchini shiitake, portobello, and oyster mushrooms, chopped with diced onion, minced garlic, and a splash of Malbec red wine with another splash of balsamic vinegar. This meal is filled with protein from the mushrooms, and veggies with a whole grain. A delicious and healhy dinner doesn’t have to take forever, and it doesn’t have to be complex
A great idea for a healthier version of a famous street food is the baked version of falafel. Falafel is a popular street food found in the Middle East. You can make fresh whole wheat pitas, or you can purchase whole wheat pitas at the store, but I’ll tell you people are really impressed when you tell them that you made the pita, the falafel, and the tzatziki sauce from scratch…just saying. The recipe to make the falafel with cooking time will take about 30 minutes (20 minutes cooking time). I have made this fresh twice and was so excited about the simplicty, and my friends were more excited about how good it tasted and the fact that it was all fresh.
You can use a great recipe on http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2012/06/baked-falafel-pita/
Give falafel a try, I like to have it on a Saturday as a lighter meal in the day.
It’s Meatless Monday, and it’s the Monday after Cinco de Mayo… I know, mine was rough too. Summer is near and you need a healthy breakfast option. Another recipe that can be flexible to modifications is the frittata, You of course can include meat.
Simple beating of 6-8 eggs and 2-3 egg whites and the addition of any fresh vegetables will fill you up. Start cooking the frittata on the stove and finish the frittata in the oven. Top the frittata with any type of cheese and enjoy.
Ok, so I didn’t really celebrate my birthday in Chef Burke’s actual kitchen, but I did celebrate my birthday with my girls at Chef David Burke’s SoHo restaurant at The James Hotel, called David Burke Kitchen. Although we arrived an hour later than our reservation, stupid NY/NJ traffic, but when we got there we were immediately seated as they checked our coats. As soon as we made our waitress aware that we were celebrating my birthday, she returned with complimentary raw oysters topped with champagne foam and caviar. I thought that was so thoughtful, and knew that I was going to have a great evening celebrating with friends.
For my appetizer, though I am trying to get right for the summer, I couldn’t resist trying bone marrow for the first time ever, and well, I didn’t regret it and I still don’t. Can you tell I was eager, the picture is blurry because I was rushing to dig in. They call the dish Ants on a Log, with snails, garlic and pickled mushrooms… AMAZING!!
For my main entree, I decided on halibut, and it was brought to the table and looked like a huge piece of birthday cake, I had never seen such a large piece of halibut.
And finally the best part of the meal was the dessert for an army, called Monkey Bread. I…. just look at the picture.
They serve the monkey bread in a tin like you get cookies in, and it is eewwy and gooey, and of course you have to top it with the fresh whipped cream. What is even more special is they prepared it on the plates table side, so it still looked nice on our plates.
Dinner was finished off with a complimentary champagne toast…Happy Birthday to MEEE!
I often look for recipes that I can cook in one pot, and get a balanced meal. When my friend had me taste this I was hooked on this go to meal
One pot wonder.
1 Bag of Black Eyed Peas, or ay dried legume
2 carrots
3 stalks of celery
1 large onion
1 bag off spinach, or 5 leaves of collards, or similar leafy vegetable
2 tablespoons of dry thyme
4 or 5 allspice berries
1 bay leaf
scotch bonnet pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Start by soaking your beans until they plump (overnight is best). Cook the beans in water until nearly done. You will want to use a large pan to be able to fit all of the ingredients with water to cover. Dice the carrots, onions, celery, and finely chopped pepper and add them to the med high pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the 3 vegetables begin to soften add the dry thyme, allspice and bay leaf and let those flavors combine. Add the cooked beans and combine the seasoned vegetables. Add water to just cover the beans and cover the pan. After about 20 minutes turn down to a simmer and uncover, and add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the water reduces to a gravy, season with. In the last 10 minutes of cooking add the leafy vegetables that are roughly chopped. (add chopped potato when the water comes to a boil – optional).
This recipe will feed an army and can be for breakfast with a fried egg topping it with some avocado slices, or lunch and dinner over rice, I enjoy it just as it is, and it is not even $3.00 a serving.
I love using my gas grill when the weather starts to get warm, consider healthy versions of your favorites
Portobello mushroom
whole wheat bun
avocado slices
olive oil
red onion slice
lettuce leaf
pickle slice
Once you coat your mushroom cap with olive oil, place it on the hot grill until it is tender and juicy. I like to toast my bun a bit on the grill, and serve my burger with grilled asparagus spears. Now start up the grill and get cooking.
I have been having some discussions with several people about blogging, and have decided to change up the structure of my entries. Beginning in May there will be themed days.
Monday – Meatless Mondays will consist of meatless recipes, or a review from a vegetarian experience at a restaurant.
Tuesday – Traveling Tuesday will focus on foods that you would encounter if traveling out of the country. I will select a focus country and every Tuesday share a recipe from that country.
Wednesday – Weight Loss Wednesday will focus on meals that will assist you in staying on track with healthy lifestyle goals.
Thursday – Thrifty Thursday will be the day that we repurpose a leftover dish, or cook on a frugal budget.
Friday – The weekend is here and I will share some ideas of food activities to do like food festivals, entertainment ideas and maybe a few drink ideas. Friday might serves as more of a free day where anything goes.
I hope that you will enjoy this change up, and I encourage you to comment as the days and weeks progress.
Foodie Engineer
Last weekend I had one of the best cooking experiences ever. I took part in a Trinidadian Roti (Buss Up Shut) cooking classes. There were 3 reasons why this experience was super.
Reason #1 – I was able to take part in the hands on experience from beginning to end. Each student was allowed to cook their own small batch of Roti. 
Reason #2 - The cooking class, taught by an awesome couple, Mr. B and Chef D, was like learning to cook with family. It was very informal, and comfortable.
Reason #3: You have the opportunity to sit down and eat the delicious fruits of your labor.
Curry Chic Peas and Potatoes, Spicy Pumpkin and Buss Up Shut
TriniSoul Cooking has several different types of cooking classes, I highly recommend that you visit their website to see when you can register to become a culinary island expert, or at least learn a few new recipes http://www.trinisoulcooking.biz Chef D and Mr. B will have you cooking like a Trini in no time. Take a look at me cooking up my Roti. Bonus Reason #4 TriniSoul is a great place for a relaxed date FYI
